Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen, on Sunday evening, ambushed and shot dead a Nigerian Army officer deployed to Logo Local Government Area of Benue State on special duty, along Anyiin-Gbeji Road.
The gunmen shot the soldier while on a commercial motorcycle.
This was just as some suspected herdsmen attacked Doo Farms Limited, on the outskirts of Makurdi town, beside the Makurdi Medium Prison, and stole 35 cows in the process.
Sources in Logo said the soldier was travelling on a commercial motorcycle from Uwev, where a platoon is based, in Gov axis, near Gbeji, to Anyiin, when he was gunned down.
“We gathered from his colleagues that he had earlier received a call from his wife that the family was in need of money.
“So, he took permission to head to Anyiin; to do a back transaction.
“He boarded a commercial motorcycle around 5:00pm and, on the way, they ran into armed herdsmen who were grazing freely along the axis, near Jootar.
“They tried to flee from the place but the armed herdsmen opened fire and shot him from the back; after which they fled with their cattle far into the bush.”
The sources said the commercial motorcycle rider, whose motorbike was also taken away by the attackers, managed to escape into the bush, unhurt, from where he raised an alarm.
On hearing about his killing, soldiers reportedly mobilised to the scene but could not catch up with the attackers. They quickly evacuated their colleague to the hospital at Ayiin where he later died “because he had lost a lot of blood.
“But, before his death, the soldier,” Daily Sun gathered, “narrated all what happened to the hearing of everyone present but efforts by the medical personnel to save his life proved abortive.”
Another source disclosed further that the vast and expansive Anyiin-Gbeji road had, in recent time, become a hideout for hit-and-run armed herdsmen who, sometimes, mount road blocks on the axis; to attack unsuspecting travelers and motorists.
“I hope they will go after these herders they way the did in Naka town where they razed close to 300 houses when an army personnel was mistakenly killed by a mob in the area,” the source said.
On the rustled cattle, a source, who declined to be named, said armed herdsmen stormed the ranch at about 2:00am, rained bullets, which forced the only security man on guard in the farm to flee.
“The guard shouted for help but nobody, including personnel at the Prisons had the courage to go close.
“They ransacked the farm house, took away all the foodstuff and the 35 cows in the ranch.
“Moments later we saw the police moving into the farm.”
When contacted, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 707 Special Forces Brigade Makurdi, Major Olabisi Ayeni, said he was yet to be briefed about the incident.
-Sun
Related Posts
Comments are closed.